5 Lunches “To Go” That Aren’t Salads

I don’t know about you but I don’t love salad. I mean, some salads are awesome and delicious and worth eating for more reasons than just getting in the greens, but I do not want to eat salad every day. And, I don’t know about you, but I don’t believe salads are the only way to eat healthy lunches.

Being away from home at lunch time makes things a bit trickier. Salads ARE an easy-to-travel-with option, and a wise choice for out to eat because most restaurants will have salad as an option, even if none of their other options are even close to the green tier.

But what if I told you there was more to lunchtime than salad? Would you believe me? Take a look at these 5 non-salad ideas that we have compiled and see what you think.

#1 Leftovers

Or, as I like to call them, “planned-overs”. Planned-overs means making enough food at dinner time to have enough leftover for lunch the next day. With our meal planning app, it’s easy to adjust the servings so that you can make extra for lunch, without making a double batch.

#2 Ramen In a Jar

Top Ramen cooks up fast and warms the belly, but I would not call this a healthy option. Instead, try our Ramen In a Jar. You can make up a bunch of jars early in the week and take one at a time with you to work. Then it’s just a matter of heating up some broth to pour into the jar to cook its contents. (A microwave or electric tea kettle are great for heating broth!)

#3 Sandwiches

Just because a sandwich has bread on it, doesn’t mean it’s unhealthy.  Carefully chosen breads can be just as nourishing as breadless options.  My favorites are BLTs (use uncured, no sugar added bacon and a mashed avocado instead of mayo), PB and J (with no-sugar-added peanut butter and yellow tier Polaner All Fruit), and Egg Salad (made with hard boiled eggs, mustard, and avocado instead of mayo).

#4 Grazers’ Lunch

Sometimes you don’t even need an official meal to fill your belly, you can just snack on a plate full of healthy snack foods. Hard boiled eggs, raw veggies, hummus, fresh fruit, dried fruit, raw nuts, and cheese slices or cheese sticks work great for this type of grazing! (This is also a fantastic one for road trips!)

#5 Meal Replacement Shake

Meal replacement shakes are a great option for travel or busy days.  Be careful, though, because not many meet the green tier criteria.  Choose one that meets the green tier criteria, blend it up the night before, freeze it, and take it with you the next morning.  It will be thawed and ready to drink by lunchtime.

If you’re stuck eating out, watch this video for great choices at restaurants (that aren’t salads!)